Waking up in a farm was quite an interesting experience although we didn't get to hear the rooster at all. The air was fresh and we were well rested. Everyone was in good spirits and breakfast was much more manageable. We had eggs, bread, milk and fruit for breakfast, usual stuff but somehow breakfast seemed more enjoyable. Maybe because we were not rushing off anywhere and the kids could run around outside before coming in for food.
After breakfast and some cleaning up, we set off to The Maze. We didn't really plan to go there, but the brochure looked quite appealing so we just tried it out. As it turned out, it's a very kids friendly family fun park and the kids love it there. In fact, we thought we could stay there for the day.
There are many mazes in the park (as the name suggests) but we aren't very good solvers apparently. We got quite stuck in some and frankly, I got a little claustrophobic after a while, especially in the Timber Maze. I think the kids' favourite must be the Tractor Tyre Maze. They got to climb on top of huge tyres and they didn't bother about the rules.
We actually find the concept of family park like this very appealing. Perhaps we are a little 'sua ku' but I like the fact that the kids were not trapped in an indoor space. The air was fresh and the space was huge. There were not many people so we didn't feel any stress.
The kids loved the Giant Jumping Pillow. It's a huge inflated rubber pillow that the kids can walk and jump on. It really helps to train balance and it's quite enjoyable, even for us.
We don't get tyre sort of swings much in Singapore, so this really appealed to my kids. It's a lot hardly to swing because it can go in different directions, unlike the normal swing. After a brief encounter, Alfee surrendered. He's not too good with motion sort of games.
We also took a cameral ride at the park. Sophie went with CK and Alfee sat with me. I was nervous because the camel was tall and we were separated by his hump. I could only hold Alfee with my hands. It wasn't a particularly pleasant ride because of the camel reeked and he swayed too much. But it's quite an experience for the kids.
We had lunch at the Iguana Cafe. The kids then played a little more at the Children's Playground before we decided that they were tired and needed some rest. We are not very adventurous parents and we didn't want to stress the kids out physically. Reluctantly as they might be, we left The Maze and hit the road for some nap.
I must say, Sophie is amazing. She could easily make friends with the locals and play with them without any reserve. The local kids were also very well mannered and they could converse with adults very well. They didn't appear shy or reluctant to talk to us at all. Sophie was very comfortable with them. Sometimes, I would have people coming up to me and talking to me because Sophie had been chatting with them.
When the kids woke up, we went for some chocolate at the Margaret River Chocolate Company at Swan Valley. It's not a big place, but the free chocolate was an instant hit with the kids. They kept going back to get more. At one point, I was so embarrassed that I got CK to bring them back for free samples. There was a viewing kitchen but the activities inside weren't too exciting.
Next, we went to Oggies Ice Cream Cafe for some ice cream treats. It must be their lucky day. However, the chocolate must have filled their tummies to the brim. They were not the wee bit keen on the banana spilt we had ordered. Instead they went straight for the little playground and played with the other kids.
We went back to the farm before our dinner hunt. The owners were reining back the horses and feeding the animals so the kids stayed a while longer. We learnt a lot about the animals from the owners and the kids really 'bonded' with the animals. I'm surprised that they were not at all bothered by the flies and manure.
We searched and randomly picked Ellenbrook Chinese Restaurant for dinner. We were still too horrified by the price tag of some local restaurants near our stay. With fingers crossed, we headed for a very new and almost uninhabited residential town. As it turned out, the food was good and cheap. We were comfortable and happy tonight.
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